Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Kramer vs. Kramer and The Pursuit of Happyness

While thinking about the on screen father-bond relationship, the first thing came to my mind was Karmer vs. Kramer, the 1979 movie. This movie is also my favorite. Both the movies deal with the father-son bonding and the struggle of the fathers. The only difference I could think of between the two movies is that The Pursuit of Happyness focuses more on Chris’s struggle to get a stable life. Chris is a good father, he cares about his son but his poverty and lack of money become major obstacles. On the other hand, in Kramer vs. Kramer, money and homelessness were not the main issues. It was more of an emotional struggle rather than physical but both of them are great movies. K&K shows how Ted becomes a loving father from an ambitious advertising executive. In the custody battle, court sides with Joanna because she is the mother, but Ted reminds her that the custody battle is not about who is going to win but what is best for their son which means, Ted is ready to give up Billy if its better for him and he did at the end; telling his son that he is going to live with his mother. Billy starts to cry and says he does not want to leave his father. The Pursuit of Happyness ends when Chris was finally chosen as a full time worker, the first person he goes to is his son.

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